------------------------------------------------- AUGUST 30, 2001 -------------------------------------------------- Source: Toronto Globe & Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ (link text is abbreviated) Progressive rock in the affirmative By Alan Niester Yes At the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto on Tuesday 'We wrote that song about 30 years ago," angel-voiced Yes front-man Jon Anderson told the 7,000 or so Yesophiles at Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre Tuesday night. "And it's so amazing that we're still able to play it for you, and you're still here to enjoy it." The fact that the song was called Perpetual Change and that the treatment they had just performed could just as easily have been done in the early seventies was an irony seemingly lost on Anderson and just about everyone else in the place. The song has it right as far as the bigger picture is concerned, of course.  Life is perpetual change, which explains perfectly why the cadaverous guitarist Steve Howe, once a flaxen-haired hippie, would now easily win the role of Mr. Burns in a live-action film version of The Simpsons. And change is one thing that has typified this group since its earliest beginnings -- especially changes in group membership. Tuesday night's lineup was a particularly traditional one, with Anderson, Howe and bassist Chris Squire joined by drummer Alan White (who replaced original drummer Bill Bruford in 1972). The revolving door at keyboard was filled not by Rick Wakeman or Patrick Moraz, but by a younger road warrior named Tom Brislin. Oh, and there were also 40 other musicians performing in the background, the symphony orchestra that is the raison d'être for this particular tour. For this is the Yes Symphonic Tour, with the veteran progressive rockers playing in front of a locally hired orchestra, conducted by Emmy Award-winning television and motion-picture composer Larry Groupe. The idea of a rock band performing with a symphony is nothing new, of course. Procol Harum had their most successful album when they recorded with the Edmonton Symphony in 1972. But the concept hasn't been used much lately, and in theory Yes's brand of adventurous neoclassical rock would seem to lend itself well to the concept. In practice, however, it didn't come off all that well. Things started off nicely enough, with the orchestra opening with an interlude that seemed to have been lifted from The George Martin Songbook. But then the Yes-men arrived to break into a half-hour version of Close to the Edge, and the orchestra was not really heard from again. Oh, they were still there. We could see them grinding away at their strings and puffing away at their brass. We just couldn't hear them. The heavily amplified rockers completely drowned out the orchestra, making the whole exercise somewhat moot. About the only time the orchestra could clearly be heard after that point was on Gates of Delirium (from 1974's underrated Relayer), a number in which the orchestra and the band cascaded into each other in a kind of musical screaming match. Not that it mattered all that much. While this performance was not as rewarding as their intimate 1999 Massey Hall performance, it was still an opportunity to hear the kings of prog-rock work through their songbook. Fan favourites such as And You and I, I've Seen All Good People and Starship Trooper were paraded out in all their bombastic glory, and they sounded as good as they did thirty years ago. Musically, these guys haven't lost a step. Thankfully, they avoided their 1980s catalogue (Owner of a Lonely Heart may have been a number one hit, but it was unYes-like drivel). They also avoided songs from recent releases such as 1999's The Ladder, though they did toss in a couple from their soon-to-be-released Magnification album (the sprightly Don't Go, and the more ponderous and traditional  In the Presence). With current bands such as Tool and Radiohead being burdened with the progressive label, it took Yes only a few hours to illustrate that there is a world of difference between yesterday's progressive rockers and today's. Put it down once again to perpetual change, and enjoy them both without worrying about comparisons. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com